Chapter 89: Social Queues

Scanning through the crowd, the cloaked man elicited a frustrated sigh. 

"It's like searching for a needle in a haystack. What is this crowd? The crowd is even bigger here than in the capital!" 

Wrapping the hilt of the sword in the linen cloth, he hid the sword once again. Although the gem in the pommel continued to glow with a faint blue light, a few extra rounds of cloth managed to hide this fact.

Now, with his royal treasure hidden, he glanced at the crowd once again. 

'It is here somewhere… The best option would be to stay close to the door and watch everyone that leaves… The resonance will be stronger as the 2 artifacts are closer to each other." 

As the thought crossed his mind, he took a few steps to clear the way and leaned against the nearby marble column. His previous plan no longer mattered, he was determined to check each and every person, hoping to find the owner of the other artifact. After all, only his brothers and sister could be wearing those!

Meanwhile, Lily and Sir Michael came back and were currently in front of the reception desk, talking with Mary about the quest they just completed.

"Here are all the Gall Bladders Miss Lily gathered for her first quest. Please check their quality and if you find it adequate register the quest completion on her Guild Card." Sir Michael ordered.

"Yes Mary, if you could, please check these for me! I did my best, I hope all of them are fine!" Lily cheerfully added.

"Certainly, give me a moment to verify them." Mary smilingly answered and took the leather bag that Michael was handing over. Then with the pouch in hand, she walked to the back, and after knocking on the back door twice, she entered without hearing any audible answer. 

As they were waiting, Lily felt a vibration coming from the leather pouch hanging on her neck. Grabbing it, she felt the increased heat that the amulet was emitting. Luckily the leather that covered the medallion didn't let any light escape.

'Why is this thing quivering? And why did it get hotter? What does this mean? It would have been good if the Master would have given some information about what this is, and how does it work…'

As she kept inwardly grumbling, Michael was planning his next steps on how to gain the affection of his muse. So far, he felt he did good, Miss Lily went from being neutral to friendly in their outing. He thought that if he played all his cards right, he could strengthen their friendship now. He knew he had to calm himself down and be more thoughtful. He had to do this right. 

With his status and influence in the guild, he could bring her to the testing room and have her affinities tested. 

'She probably has at least one affinity… To think I would meet such an incredible woman in this event! Such luck!' He couldn't help but sneer at his own luck.

However, he was interrupted with Miss Lily's angelic voice.

"Is there a problem Sir Michael?" 

Coming back to his senses, he put on his usual polite smile, and with a respectful tone, he answered.

"Nothing of the sort Miss Lily. I was just thinking about the next steps. I will bring you to the testing room to have your affinities tested. Normally there is a set schedule when this can be done, but with me as your guide, we can ignore that. Knowing what affinities you may have, will be an incredible benefit for Miss Lily. Miss Lily may not know this but having a natural-born affinity to one of the elements is an incredibly rare gift to have, and once the news spread, your reputation will soar.

So, I was basically counting myself lucky to have managed to befriend my lady before she got famous throughout the city. I'm afraid I would not have the chance otherwise!"

Lily giggled at Sir Michael's clever response. She already knew what affinities she has, Granny has already told her, however, she was quite curious how the testing process works. Although the idea of being able to attend the Academy and learning more about the world was tempting, she didn't want to do that without her brother. 

Shaking her head lightly, she looked up to Sir Michael and spoke.

"I'm sorry Sir Michael, I would like to wait until my brother gets better. I want to take the test together with him. I hope you don't mind."

Forcing the polite smile to his face, Michael hid the bubbling anger and jealousy deep inside him, as he spoke with forced calmness.

"No, it is not a problem Miss Lily. I do hope your brother gets better soon. Just let the receptionist call for me, when you and your brother decide to take it, okay?"

"Sure!" Lily cheerfully replied upon hearing this answer.

Before they could continue their little chat, the back door opened up again, and the smiling Mary came back with an empty leather bag. She gave the empty bag back and looked at Lily while handing over the Guild Card to Lily.

"Here you go Lily, we have verified the organs. All 6 are in pristine condition, so I'm happy to say, your first quest is officially marked as completed. We have added 20 Credits to your name and also…" As Lily took the card back, Mary picked up a wooden box from under the table and placed it on the desk in front of her. 

Pulling out a bronze key from under her blouse that had a stylishly designed eagle head with tiny green emeralds as eyes, she opened the box and picked 6 bronze coins from it. Looking at Lily once again, she handed the coins over as she continued.

"...Here you go, the 60 Draquilean Bronze Coins as stated in the description."

Lily took the coins and after checking the eagle emblem on them, she placed all of it into her own currently pretty empty pouch on her waist. 

"Thanks, Mary, you're the best!" she happily thanked the girl and looked at Sir Michael.

"Do you know a good place to eat?"

Michael was startled by the sudden question but quickly regained his composure. Thinking for a moment, he answered. 

"I do…" Then realizing the chance, the polite smile returned to his face and with a slight bow, he continued. "Please, allow me to invite you for lunch to the best restaurant in the city! Only the best can be worthy of you Miss Lily!"

As she was a sheltered girl and also was living in a harsh environment for years with his brother, Lily wasn't knowledgeable about the social queues, and also didn't really think much about Sir Michael's behavior. She thought he was just being friendly to the newcomer. 

As such, she looked at the man with a troubled expression, as she asked.

"That sounds awesome, but… I only have the 6 bronze coins I just got from Mary. Will that be enough there?"

Confused at her words, Michael wasn't sure how to reply for a while. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he stood back up and calmly explained.

"I may not have been clear, please excuse me. By inviting Miss Lily, I meant that I will pay for the meal, Miss Lily just needs to accept and spend lunch with me."

Thinking about her plans to visit the Norton's once again, she wasn't sure how much time would she be spending if she would go with him.

"Would it take long? I would prefer to eat something fast, as I want to visit some friends later before I head back home."

"I…I... " Michael was at a loss, once again. She actually refused because she wants to eat something fast?! Other girls would die for the chance to have lunch with him! Shaking his head slightly to regain some of his composure, he continued. 

"It would take a bit, yes. In that case, if Miss Lily wouldn't mind allowing me to escort you to the back, I'm sure there are some leftovers from the meeting from the morning. What does Miss Lily think of that idea?"

"That sounds lovely! Thank you, Sir Michael, you are really kind! Let's go then, lead the way!"

"Certainly, please follow me, as the event has ended, the food has been brought to the back." Looking at Mary, Sir Michael asked. Miss… Mary, right? You wouldn't mind if we would use the back room and have a quick lunch there, would you?" 

Startled, Mary shivered, and as her face turned red as a tomato in embarrassment, she stuttered as she replied.

"N-no, of c-course not! F-feel free!"

"Wonderful! Thank you Mary, I will let the management know of your hard work today. I'm sure they will be glad to hear that there's such a hard-working girl here." Michael smiled at the girl, who was looking at the ground to hide her embarrassment. 

Then, they made their way behind the counter walking to the back door that Mary just used before.

---

Suddenly, the buzzing feeling and the heat that came with the glow faded. As nobody has left the building, the cloaked man wasn't sure what happened and was nervously looking back and forth.

'What happened? Did the owner notice me? But how could he leave without me noticing?! I was standing here, and this is the only entrance and exit…" Then, as he looked at the reception, behind the chestnut curly shoulder-length haired receptionist girl, he noticed another door at the back. Other than the stairs it was the only definite exit from the hall. "... Could it be an employee? Hmm…"

With that, he slowly started walking towards the reception...